TV Review: THE 100: Season 2, Episode 12: Rubicon [The CW]

The CW’s The 100Rubicon TV Show Review. The 100: Season 2, Episode 12: ‘Rubicon,’ started with a really bad morning, for former coalition captive, Emmerson (Toby Levins), ending in some good news. That was bad. Still, even the fall of Vienna couldn’t dampen Hitler’s spirits, after learning about FDR’s death; so even bad guys get to bask, now & then. As if to build on the morbid merriment value, of fallen enemy leaders, Cage (Johnny Whitworth) – recently self-promoted to President – had a cheap (shot) solution to Emmerson’s troubling reports.

This was to provide the meat to the episode, as Bellamy’s (Bob Morely) ongoing Die Hard adventure brought the plan directly from Cage’s lips, to Clarke’s ear; leading to a crisis of conscience – first, between Clarke & Lexa (Eliza Taylor, Alycia Debnam Carey), and then, between Clarke & Abby (Paige Turco). As I saw it, this was another exercise in making Clarke an historical arch-type figure. Only this time, parallels were drawn to a familiar example of just such a figure: Winston Churchill (what, you thought I pulled that Hitler reference out of my smuggler’s notch?).

Apparently, Churchill had learned, via code-breaking, of an impending German air raid. He opted to not warn the residents of the target, for fear of tipping the Germans off to their Enigma coding having been compromised. He also allowed a shipping convoy to sail into a U-Boat ambush; but the air raid anecdote seemed to be more akin to what ‘Rubicon’ was going for.

A lot of coalition people were about to be written off, and for tension’s sake, some cast members were in the kill-zone. For convenience’s sake, they were all given reasons to wander off. One such reason brought Abby in on the plan (way to commit, Clarke), and she wasn’t the least bit grateful for it. Another reunited Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) & what remained of Lincoln (Ricky Whittle), after he fell off the wagon, getting Bellamy into Mt. Weather.

Is it just me, or have the Reapers been notably… coherent, lately? I can also understand English being still widely spoken; but the locals understanding expressions like “screw ‘em,” and “bad ass” seems like a stretch. Semantics.

For what it was worth, the inside man angle did get blown, by direct acts of Bellamy sabotage (for a small town kind of place, Bellamy sure has gotten around, in his disguise); but Cage was left suspecting loyalist hold-outs, acting on his deposed father’s (Raymond J. Barry) behalf. Too little, too late, by a number of degrees, however, as Jasper’s (Devon Bostwick) crew finally got an out big enough to actually act on. After having ignored Dr. Tsing (Rekha Sharma), in their previous half-attempts, I suppose there was some satisfaction to be had, in giving her such an attentive send-off audience, the way they did. I will not miss her at all. Full credit to Rehka Sharma; I want you to know that you’re character was very special to us, in that sort of way.

Between the panicked rage, of the 47 (45?), and the seasoned, hardened rage, of the harvest Grounders, there is the potential for things to get genocidal, for the Weathermen. Still, bear in mind, it would be a huge leap –even for this show. I mean, they didn’t show Bellamy those Weather children just for the sake of one scene, after all. Right? Did they just waste Sky Marrow on Dante, along with his reconciling with Jasper? There also has to be some future point of contention, between the Sky People & the Grounders; and I’d say disagreeing over the fate of the Weathermen – and possibly the salvaging of Mt. Weather, itself – would be as good an issue as any for that.

Well, before I get too bogged down, on the matter of clan dynamics, there are other locations, complete with entirely different dynamics, on the verge of being introduced. It might be owed to the nature of the cataclysmic war, that Thelonious “Monk” Jaha’s (Isaiah Washington) exodus party had made it to the open desert (where he had made Earth-fall), not long after leaving the lush woods, around Mt. Weather.

Only, the Dead Zone seemed to be in & around NYC, IIRC, and Mt. Weather is located… best not to think about it – there were other riddles to ponder.

While on the way, to the City of Light, Jaha’s party met a woman, filled with fright….

This riddle, however, centered on whether Murphy’s (Richard Harmon) trust issues were to be alleviated or exacerbated, by either Jaha’s leadership, or from bonding with the DZ reject, Emori (Luisa D’Oliveira), that both he & Jaha had accepted into their group. Even in the event that Emori did sort of make a monkey out of the Monk, something tells me that the seeds of a new… friendship has been sown; likely to drag Murphy, kicking & screaming (but not a whole lot) to redemption.

The title to the episode is, of course, a reference to the river Julius Caesar had to cross, in order to take his army into Rome. As this was forbidden, by Roman law, the action marked a point of no return, for the future Emperor. It’s what “crossing the Rubicon” has meant, ever since, and Clarke had most certainly crossed that point, with this decision.

We know Lexa’s cool with it; but unless Lexa’s ruthlessness allows for throwing Clarke under the bus, at some point, fallout revolves around Clarke’s ability to manage her own guilt, and Abby’s willingness to let her. Of course either/ both of them could always wind up telling other people about it. That wouldn’t be too crazy, would it?

So the parallel tales, of Clarke & Cage’s soul sacrifice, for the greater good, continues. It’s likely that the parallel won’t last long (not while Eliza Taylor is the only one, of the two, with starring credit); but I’m curious to see how long the show can keep their Faustian gambits going.

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About the author

Sam Joseph

Sam is an Avid consumer/observer of Geek culture, and collector of Fanboy media from earliest memory. Armchair sociologist and futurist. Honest critic with satirical if not absurdist­­ wit with some experience in comics/ animation production.